Newar (नेवाः भाय्Newāh Bhāy) is also known as Nepal Bhasa (नेपाल भाषा) and Newari.[5] Newar is spoken today as a native language by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions. Outside Nepal, Newar is spoken in India, particularly in Sikkim, where it is one of eleven official languages.

Although "Nepal Bhasa" literally means "Nepalese language", the language is not the same as Nepali (Nepali: नेपाली), the country's current official language. The two languages belong to different language families (Sino-Tibetan and Indo-European, respectively), though centuries of contact have resulted in a significant body of shared vocabulary.

Newar was Nepal's administrative language from the 14th to the late 18th centuries. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Newar has suffered from official suppression.[6] During the period 1952 to 1991, the percentage of the population in the Kathmandu Valley speaking Newar dropped from 75% to 44%,[7] and Newar culture and language are under threat.[8] The language has been listed as being "definitely endangered" by UNESCO.[9]

The earliest occurrences of the name Nepālbhāṣā can be found in the manuscripts Narad Sanhita, dated 1380 AD, and Amarkosh, dated 1389 AD.[10][11] Since then, the name has been used widely on inscriptions, manuscripts, documents and books.

In the 1920s, the name of the language known as Khas Kura,[12] Gorkhali or Parbatiya[13] was changed to Nepali,[14] and the language began to be officially referred to as Newari while the Newars continued using the original term.[15] Conversely, the term Gorkhali in the former national anthem entitled "Shreeman Gambhir" was changed to Nepali in 1951.[16]

On 8 September 1995, following years of lobbying to use the old name, the government decided that the name Nepal Bhasa should be used instead of Newari.[17] However, the decision was not implemented, and on 13 November 1998, the Minister of Information and Communication issued another directive to use the name Nepal Bhasa instead of Newari.[18] However, the Central Bureau of Statistics has not been doing so.[19]

According to the linguist Glover, Newari and Chepang language must have diverged around 2200 BC. It is estimated that Newari shares 28% of its vocabulary with Chepang. At the same time, a very large and significant proportion of Newari vocabulary is Indo-European in origin, on one estimate more than 50% indicating an influence of at least 1600 years from Indo-European languages:first from Sanskrit, Maithili, Persian, and Urdu; and Today from Hindi, Nepali and English.[23]

Newar words appeared in Sanskrit inscriptions in the Kathmandu Valley for the first time in the fifth century. The words are names of places, taxes and merchandise indicating that it already existed as a spoken language during the Licchavi period (approximately 400-750 AD).[24]

Inscriptions in Newar emerged from the 12th century, the palm-leaf manuscript from Uku Bahah being the first example.[25] By the 14th century, Newar had become an administrative language as shown by the official proclamations and public notices written in it. The first books, manuals, histories and dictionaries also appeared during this time. The Gopalarajavamsavali, a history of Nepal, appeared in 1389 AD.[26] From the 14th century onwards, an overwhelming number of stone inscriptions in the Kathmandu Valley, where they are an ubiquitous element at heritage sites, are in Newar.[27]

Newar developed as the court and state language of Nepal from the 14th to the late 18th centuries.[14] It was the definite language of stone and copper plate inscriptions, royal decrees, chronicles, Hindu and Buddhist manuscripts, official documents, journals, title deeds, correspondence and creative writing. Records of the life-cycle ceremonies of Malla royalty and the materials used were written in Newar.[28]

The period 1505-1847 AD was a golden age for Newar literature. Poetry, stories, epics and dramas were produced in great numbers during this time which is known as the Classical Period. Since then it entered a period of decline due to official disapproval and oftentimes outright attempts to stamp it out.

Newar can be classified into the old and new eras. Although there is no specific demarcation between the two, the period 1846-1941 AD during the Rana regime is taken as the dividing period between the two.[29]

An example of the language of the ancient period is provided by the following line from the palm-leaf manuscript from Uku Bahah which dates from 1114 AD. It is a general discussion of business transactions.

The language flourished as an administrative and literary language during the medieval period.[14] Noted royal writers include Mahindra Malla, Siddhi Narsingh Malla and Jagat Prakash Malla. An example of the language used during this period is provided by the following lines from Mooldevshashidev written by Jagat Prakash Malla.[30]

धु छेगुकि पाछाव वाहान

dhu chēguki pāchāva vāhāna

तिलहित बिया हिङ लाहाति थाय थायस

tilahita biyā hiŋa lāhāti thāya thāyasa

The verse is a description of Shiva and the use of a tiger skin as his seat.

Newar began to be sidelined after the Gorkha conquest of Nepal and the ouster of the Malla dynasty by the Shah dynasty in the late 18th century. Since then, its history has been one of constant suppression and struggle against official disapproval.[31]

Following the advent of the Shahs, the Gorkhali language became the court language,[32] and Newar was replaced as the language of administration.[33] However, Newar continued to remain in official use for a time as shown by the 1775 treaty with Tibet which was written in it.[14] A few of the new rulers cultivated the language. Kings Prithvi Narayan Shah, Rana Bahadur and Rajendra Bikram Shah composed poetry and wrote plays in it.

Newar suffered heavily under the repressive policy of the Rana dynasty (1846–1951 AD) when the regime attempted to wipe it out.[34][35] In 1906, legal documents written in Newar were declared unenforceable, and any evidence in the language was declared null and void.[36] The rulers forbade literature in Newar, and writers were sent to jail.[37] In 1944, Buddhist monks who wrote in the language were expelled from the country.[38][39]

Moreover, hostility towards the language from neighbours grew following massive migration into the Kathmandu Valley leading to the indigenous Newars becoming a minority.[40] During the period 1952 to 1991, the percentage of the valley population speaking Newar dropped from 74.95% to 43.93%.[41] The Nepal Bhasa movement arose as an effort to save the language.

Newars have been fighting to save their language in the face of opposition from the government and hostile neighbours from the time of the repressive Rana regime till today.[42] The movement arose against the suppression of the language that began with the rise of the Shah dynasty in 1768 AD, and intensified during the Rana regime (1846–1951) and Panchayat system (1960–1990).[43]

At various times, the government has forbidden literature in Newar, banned official use and removed it from the media and the educational system.[44] Opponents have even petitioned the Supreme Court to have its use barred.

Activism has taken the form of publication of books and periodicals to public meets and protest rallies. Writers and language workers have been jailed or expelled from the country, and they have continued the movement abroad. The struggle for linguistic rights has sometimes combined with the movement for religious and political freedom in Nepal.

In 1909, Bajracharya published the first printed book using movable type. Shastri wrote a grammar of the language entitled Nepal Bhasa Vyakaran, the first one in modern times. It was published from Kolkata in 1928. His other works include Nepal Bhasa Reader, Books 1 and 2 (1933) and an alphabet book Nepali Varnamala (1933).[46]

Mahaju's Ramayan and books on morals and ethics, Malla's endeavors to impart education in the native language and other literary activities marked the renaissance. Dharmacharya published the first magazine in Newar Buddha Dharma wa Nepal Bhasa ("Buddhism and Nepalese") from Kolkata in 1925. Also, the renaissance marked the beginning of the movement to get official recognition for the name "Nepal Bhasa" in place of the Khas imposed term "Newari".

Some of the lines of Mahaju read as follows:

सज्जन मनुष्या संगतनं मूर्ख नापं भिना वै

sajjana manuṣyā saṃgatanaṃ mūrkha nāpaṃ bhinā vai

पलेला लपते ल वंसा म्वति थें ल सना वै

palēlā lapatē la vaṃsā mvati thēṃ la sanā vai

The verse states that even a moron can improve with the company of good people just like a drop of water appears like a pearl when it descends upon the leaves of a lotus plant.

The years 1941-1945 are known as the jail years for the large number of authors who were imprisoned for their literary or political activities. They were a productive period and resulted in an outpouring of literary works.

Chittadhar Hridaya, Siddhicharan Shrestha and Phatte Bahadur Singh were among the prominent writers of the period who were jailed for their writings. While in prison, Hridaya produced his greatest work Sugata Saurabha,[47] an epic poem on the life of Gautama Buddha.[37] Shrestha wrote a collection of poems entitled Seeswan ("Wax Flower", published in 1948) among other works. Singh (1902–1983) was sentenced to life imprisonment for editing and publishing an anthology of poems by various poets entitled Nepali Bihar.[48]

The efforts of Newar authors coincided with the revival of TheravadaBuddhism in Nepal, which the rulers disliked equally. In 1946, the monks who had been exiled by the Ranas in 1944 for teaching Buddhism and writing in Newar were allowed to return following international pressure. Restrictions on publication were relaxed, and books could be published after being censored. The monks wrote wide-ranging books on Buddhism and greatly enriched the corpus of religious literature.[49][50]

Following the overthrow of the Rana dynasty and the advent of democracy in 1951, restrictions on publication in Newar were removed. Books, magazines and newspapers appeared. A daily newspaper Nepal Bhasa Patrika began publication in 1955.[52] Textbooks were published and Newar was included in the curriculum. Nepal Rastriya Vidhyapitha recognized Newar as an alternative medium of instruction in the schools and colleges affiliated to it.

Literary societies like Nepal Bhasa Parisad were formed and Chwasa Pasa returned from exile.[31] In 1958, Kathmandu Municipality passed a resolution that it would accept applications and publish major decisions in Newar in addition to the Nepali language.[53]

Democracy lasted for a brief period, and Newar and other languages of Nepal entered a second dark age with the dissolution of parliament and the imposition of the Panchayat system in 1960. Under its policy of "one nation, one language", only the Nepali language was promoted, and all the other languages of Nepal were suppressed as "ethnic" or "local" languages.[54]

In 1963, Kathmandu Municipality's decision to recognize Newar was revoked. In 1965, the language was also banned from being broadcast over Radio Nepal.[55] Those who protested against the ban were put in prison, including Buddhist monk Sudarshan Mahasthavir.

The New Education System Plan brought out in 1971 eased out Nepal's other languages from the schools in a bid to diminish the country's multi-lingual traditions.[56] Students were discouraged from choosing their native language as an elective subject because it was lumped with technical subjects.[42] Nepal's various languages began to stagnate as the population could not use them for official, educational, employment or legal purposes.

Birat Nepal Bhasa Sahitya Sammelan Guthi (Grand Nepal Bhasa Literary Conference Trust), formed in 1962 in Bhaktapur, and Nepal Bhasa Manka Khala, founded in 1979 in Kathmandu, are some of the prominent organizations that emerged during this period to struggle for language rights. The names of these organizations also annoyed the government which, on one occasion in 1979, changed the name of Brihat Nepal Bhasa Sahitya Sammelan Guthi in official media reports.[57]

After the 1990 People's Movement that brought the Panchayat system to an end, the languages of Nepal enjoyed greater freedom.[59] The 1990 constitution recognized Nepal as a multiethnic and multilingual country. The Nepali language in the Devanagari script was declared the language of the nation and the official language. Meanwhile, all the languages spoken as native languages in Nepal were named national languages.[60]

In 1997, Kathmandu Metropolitan City declared that its policy to officially recognize Nepal Bhasa would be revived. The rest of the city governments in the Kathmandu Valley announced that they too would recognize it. However, critics petitioned the Supreme Court to have the policy annulled, and in 1999, the Supreme Court quashed the decision of the local bodies as being unconstitutional.[61] Newar was thus pushed out once again.

A second People's Movement in 2006 ousted the Shah dynasty and Nepal became a republic which gave the people greater linguistic freedom. The 2007 Interim Constitution states that the use of one's native language in a local body or office shall not be barred.[62] However, this has not happened in practice. Organizations with names in Newar are not registered, and municipality officials refuse to accept applications written in the language.[63][64]

The restoration of democracy has been marked by the privatization of the media. Various concerned people and organizations are working for the development of Newar by themselves. Newar has several newspapers, a primary level curriculum, several schools, several FM stations (selected time for Newar programs), regular TV programs and News (on Image TV Channel), Nepal Bhasa Music Award (a part of Image Award) and several websites (including Nepal Bhasa wikipedia).

The number of schools teaching Newar has increased, and it is being offered in schools outside the Kathmandu Valley too.[65]

In Gorkha, the Bhairav Temple at Pokharithok Bazaar contains an inscription dated Nepal Sambat 704 (1584 AD), which is 185 years before the conquest of the Kathmandu Valley by the Gorkha Kingdom. The Palanchowk Bhagawati Temple situated to the east of Kathmandu contains an inscription recording a land donation dated Nepal Sambat 861 (1741 AD).[66]

In Bhojpur in east Nepal, an inscription at the Bidyadhari Ajima Temple dated Nepal Sambat 1011 (1891 AD) records the donation of a door and tympanum. The Bindhyabasini Temple in Bandipur in west Nepal contains an inscription dated Nepal Sambat 950 (1830 AD) about the donation of a tympanum.[67]

Outside Nepal, Newar has been used in Tibet. Official documents and inscriptions recording votive offerings made by Newar traders have been found in Lhasa.[68] A copper plate dated Nepal Sambat 781 (1661 AD) recording the donation of a tympanum is installed at the shrine of Chhwaskamini Ajima (Tibetan: Palden Lhamo) in the Jokhang Temple.[69]

Dramas are traditionally performed in open Dabu (stage). Most of the traditional dramas are related to deities and demons. Masked characters are central to such dramas. Music forms an important part of drama. Most of them are narrated with the help of songs sang at intervals. The drama as such resembles dance in many cases. The theme of most of the drama is to create a social wellbeing with morals illustrating the rise, turbulence and fall of evil. There are fixed dates in the Nepal Sambat (Nepal Era) calendar for performance of specific drama. Most of the dramas are carried out by specific Guthis.

This is a relatively new field of literature compared to other fields. Most of the fiction were written in poetry form till the medieval era. So, almost all of prose fiction belong to the modern Newar. Collective short stories in Newar are more popular than novels.

The art of verbal story telling is very old in Newar. There are a variety of mythical and social stories that have aided in establishing the norm of Kathmandu valley. Stories ranging from the origin of Kathmandu valley to the temples of the valley and the important monuments have been passed down verbally in Newar and very few are present in written form. However, with an increase in the literacy rate and an awareness amongst the people, those stories have been penned down. Stories on other topics have also taken root.

This dialect is used in Chitlang, a place south of Kathmandu valley in Makawanpur district. This is one of the biggest Newar bastions at Chitlang. Balami caste predominates there. Recently a new committee named "Balami Samaaj" has been established to give an identity rather than Newar but as the government has categorized Balami as Newar, this attempt fails.

Kathmandu dialect is one of the dominant form of language and very close to the standard form of language used in academics and media. It is also the most widely used dialect. It is especially spoken in Kathmandu. It is very similar to the Lalitpur dialect.

Nepal is now almost always written in the Devanagari script. The script originally used for writing it, Nepal Lipi or Nepalese script, fell into disuse at the beginning of the 20th century when writing in the language and the script was banned.[70]

Nepal Lipi, also known as Nepal Akha,[71] emerged in the 10th century. Over the centuries, a number of variants of Nepali Lipi have appeared.

Devanagari is the most widely used script at present, as it is common in Nepal and India. Ranjana script was the most widely used script to write Classical Nepalese in ancient times. It is experiencing a revival due to recent rise of cultural awareness. The Prachalit script is also in use. All used to write Nepal but Devanagari are descended from a script called the Nepal script.

Modern Newar is written generally with the Devanagari script, although formally it was written in the Ranjana and other scripts. The letters of the Nagari alphabet are traditionally listed in the order vowels (monophthongs and diphthongs), anusvara and visarga, stops (plosives and nasals) (starting in the back of the mouth and moving forward), and finally the liquids and fricatives, written in IAST as follows (see the tables below for details):

a ā i ī u ū ṛ ṝ ḷ ḹ ; e ai o au

ṃ ḥ

k kh g gh ṅ; c ch j jh ñ; ṭ ṭh ḍ ḍh ṇ; t th d dh n; p ph b bh m

y r l v; ś ṣ s h

Kathamandu Newar does not use ñ for the palatal nasal but instead writes this sound with the ligature ⟨ny⟩ as for example in the word nyā 'five'. Orthographic vowel length represents a difference of vowel quality, and in fact vowel length is indicated with the visarga after the vowel a (e.g. khāḥ 'ís') and with other vowels is written with the independent vowel letter (which would not be permitted e.g. in Sanskrit), for example mhiiga 'day after tomorrow'.

The consonants, called bā ākha (बाआखः), meaning "father alphabets" used in Newar are:

क

ख

ग

घ

ङ

ङ्ह

ka

kha

ga

gha

/ŋ/a

/ŋ/ha

च

छ

ज

झ

ञ

cha

chh

ja or za

jha or zha

/ɲ/ya

ट

ठ

ड

ढ

ण

ta

tha

/ɖ/a

dha

/ɳ/a

त

थ

द

ध

न

न्ह

ta

tha

/d̪/a

/d̪ʱ/a

na

nha

प

फ

ब

भ

म

म्ह

pa

pha or fa

ba

bha

ma

mha

य

ह्य

र

ह्र

ल

ल्ह

व

व्ह

ya

hya

ra

hra

la

lha

va or wa

wha

श

ष

स

ह

/ɕ/a

/ʃ/a

sa

ha

क्ष

त्र

ज्ञ

ksha

tra

/ɡɲ/a

ङ्ह, न्ह, म्ह, ह्य, ह्र, ल्ह and व्ह are sometimes included in the list of consonants as they have a specific identity in Nepal.

The use of ङ and ञ was very common in the old form of language. However, in the new form, specially in writing, the use of these characters has diminished. The use of ण, त, थ, द, ध, न, श, ष, क्ष, त्र, ज्ञ are limited by the new grammar books to the loan words only.

Statement sentence-
This language is a SOV (subject–object–verb) language. For instance, "My name is Bilat (Birat)" is "Jigu Na'aa Bilat Khaa'a " which word by word translation becomes, "My (Jigu) Name (Na'aa) Bilat is (Khaa'a)".

Interrogative sentence-
Wh-question:
In case of Newar language, Wh-questions are rather "G-questions" with "when/which" being replaced by "Gublay/Gugu" respectively. There is an additional "Guli" which is used for "How much/How many". A S-word "Soo" is used for "who". "Chhoo/Schoo (with a silent 's')" is used for "What", and "Gathey" is used for "How".

Suffix- "Chaa" and "Ju" are two popular suffixes. "Chaa" is added to signify "junior" or "lesser". But when added to a name, it is used derogatorily. For example, kya'ah-chaa means nephew where "chaa" is being added to kya'ah(son). When added to name like Birat for "Birat-chaa", it is being used derogatorily. The suffix "ju" is added to show respect. For example, "Baa-ju" means "father-in-law" where "ju" is added to "Baa(father)". Unlike "chaa", "ju" is not added to a first/last name directly. Instead, honorific terms like "Bhaaju" is added for males and "Mayju" for females. Example, "Birat bhaaju" for a male name (Birat) and "Suja Mayju" for a female name (Suja).

Prefix – "Tap'ah" is added to denote "remote" or "distant" relative ('distance' in relationship irrespective of spatial extent). A distant (younger) brother (kija) becomes "tap'ah-kija". "Tuh" is added to denote "higher". Father (baa)'s senior brother is referred to as "Tuh-baa".

Nepal Bhasa is the native language of Newars. Newars form a very diverse community with people from Sino-Tibetan, ASI and ANI origin.[74] Newars follow Hinduism and Buddhism, and are subdivided into 64 castes. The language therefore plays a central unifying role in the existence and perpetuation of Newar community. The poet Siddhidas Mahaju concluded that the Newar community and its rich culture can only survive if the Newar language survives (भाषा म्वासा जाति म्वाइ).

Relative to many other languages of Nepal, Newar enjoyed promotions in various areas since Kathmandu become the capital of the country, as the Newar community rose in ranks throughout the government, royal courts and businesses.

Newar faced a decline during the Shah era when this language was replaced by Khas Kura (later renamed Nepali) as the national language and after the introduction of the "One nation, one language" policy of King Mahendra. The then Royal Nepalese Government spent a lot for Sanskrit education and a Sanskrit University was approved during those times—although Sanskrit is virtually not spoken by anyone in Nepal—because Khas Kura's roots lie in Sanskrit. There were very few resources available then for even primary-level education in Newar. There were no programs broadcast in Newar in the state radio, Radio Nepal. Even after programs in Newar began to be broadcast, the language was referred to as "Newari", a term considered derogatory by Newars. Even today, there are no programs in Newar in the state television, Nepal Television, although it broadcasts a Bollywood Hindi movie every Saturday (although it is used as lingua franca in Terai, Hindi is the native language of less than 1% population in Nepal) and often Pakistani serials (in Urdu) as well. The Supreme Court of Nepal has also banned any use of Newar even for trivial matters in official purposes of any part of Nepal. These factors have led to a resentment among Newar community.

This fact has been used for political advantages by many parties of Nepal. Many slogans are translated into Newar, although very few important documents of political parties are ever translated into Newar.

^"Some people in Newar community, including some prominent Newar linguists, consider the derivation suffix -i found in the term Newari to constitute an "Indianization" of the language name. These people thus hold the opinion that the term Newari is non-respectful of Newar culture." Carol Genetti, A Grammar of Dolakha Newar

^Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Pal, Pratapaditya (1985) Art of Nepal: A Catalogue of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Collection. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-05407-3. Page 19.